MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – Twenty-three year old amateur boxer, Sulem Urbina, a Mexican born, U.S. resident, returned to her Team Mexico training camp in Mexico City after winning a gold medal in the 112 lb/51 kg division at the Independence Cup Amateur National Championships. The international competition tournament, which included participants from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, United States, Brazil, and Mexico, was held February 10-February 14, 2014, at the amphitheater located on the campus of the Universidad Technologica de Santiago (UTESA) in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

Urbina, who regularly trains at Knockout Boxing Club in Phoenix, Arizona, won the gold medal by winning three fights in five days. In the quarterfinals on February 10, Urbina defeated Arisleyda Santiago of the Dominican Republic by a score of 3:0. In the semi-finals on February 12, she defeated Zaida Enriquez of Mexico by a score of 3:0. In the finals, held on February 14, she won the gold medal by defeating Clelia Costa of Brazil by a score of 2:1. Her amateur record now stands at 58-10.

Sulem talked about winning the Independence Cup and what it meant to her. She said, “I’m really happy to have won this tournament. It’s a great start to competing in future international competitions. I’ve always trained hard and want to be the best, so that others can have a positive example to follow. I want my brother Alexis to be proud of me and I want his story to be known and never forgotten. I’m grateful to my husband, manager and trainer, Andrews Soto, and my coaches on Team Mexico, Mario Gonzalez and Francisco Bonilla, for guiding me to a gold medal victory in the Independence Cup. A big thank you to everyone that has been supportive of me.”

Coach Andrews Soto said, “Sulem is proving her dedication to the sport of boxing. I’m impressed that she won nationals in Mexico, and then continued winning at the international level. She is very focused and driven right now. There is no doubt that the death of her brother Alexis Urbina is fueling her.”

Soto discussed Team Urbina’s immediate future. He said, “Sulem is still in Mexico to train with her team. She will travel back to Arizona next week and begin training for her next competitions, which includes the Continental Championships and the qualifiers for the Central American Games. I expect her to continue competing and representing well in upcoming international competitions. She has several community outreach events coming up next month in Arizona and she also needs to catch up on her college course work. Staying busy is always a good thing. I’m just really proud of her.”

For any questions, interviews, or appearance requests, contact Lorin Chvotkin of Team Urbina by email at Lbchoyas@yahoo.com or by phone at +1 (240) 498 1478.

Sulem Urbina is on Twitter at @SulemUrbina and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/OFFICIALsulem.soto

Coach Andrews Soto is on Twitter at @AndrewsLSoto and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/andrews.soto